RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch claims to have made what just might be the world’s most desirable pair of jeans: whipped up from a high-tech denim that combats cellulite so its wearers can hone their beach bodies even as they bundle up for Brazil’s gentle winters.
Herchcovitch’s so-called "beauty denim," which he says harnesses body heat and turns it into infrared rays that stimulate cellulite-combatting micro-circulation, made its debut at the designer’s winter 2014 show at Fashion Rio, Rio de Janeiro’s four-day fashion extravaganza, which wrapped up on Saturday.
The jury is still out on the veracity of the Sao Paulo designer’s claim to have produced the world’s first anti-cellulite denim. Herchcovitch says five years of research into the product shows it is effective, but medical experts have cautioned there is no miracle cure for cellulite. All that aside, the models donning the denim looked like they had precious little need of micro-circulation as they stomped the catwalk.
In skinny jeans and cat suits made from a patchwork of indigo and grey denim with a metallic sheen, the models looked like tough, street-wise urban incarnations of medieval knights in suits of armour. The skinny jean cum pleated skirt combos looked like what a 21st century Joan of Arc would wear, while the high-impact eyewear — oversized sunglasses in the shape of ski masks — conjured an urban knight’s protective visor.